A Bag of Tricks: 2 Nasty Punishments for the Wayward Queen Attack

Hello readers, and welcome to the first post in the "A Bag of Tricks" series! This series will cover tricks, traps, and tips against common moves/gambits. Keep watch for the next post!

I can confidently state that we've all been Scholar's mated. When I was rated 970 I blundered mate because I thought, "Who still uses the Scholar's Mate?". But as it turns out, many do. So I've compiled for you these two 2 nasty surprises to stun your opponents.

1. An Astonishing Discovery

This game starts off a king's pawn, with White attempting the Inconspicuous Scholar's Mate, advancing the queen to f3 and placing the bishop in its normal position.  Black has a knight developed at this time. However, instead of playing the typical knight move, Black plays... pawn f5?? White, eager to capitalize on Black's "mistake" and continue the attack, captures with the queen. Then black plays d5, attacking the bishop while discovering an attack on the queen. White might check, but after g6 White's position is lost.

2. Chase, Chase, Chase!

In this position, White attempts the classical queen attack after normal development by Black. Black responds with g6, seeking to attack the pinned knight. White continues the attack with f3. White follows up with a forcing sacrifice on d5. After White captures, black now has powerful pieces near White's territory and a winning position. Black tries in futility to defend the c2 pawn but after bishop f5 and a knight trade-off, the attackers outnumber c2's defenders. With black to move, a beautiful fork.

I hope this article will save you a lot of hassle figuring out how to punish this attack. And, as always, thank you for reading!